Paparazzi may be hard But with you, it's nothing
by Moondance-Daughter
Summary: A story about a girl who meets Josh Hutcherson and becomes his friend but he starts liking her but she doesn't want him because he's famous but she just can't stay away from him.
1. Chapter 1

"God, you're so difficult sometimes I don't know why I bothered to house you!" My mother yelled

"Well it wouldn't be this difficult if you could just let me live my own life! Your taking it all away from me in the blink of an eye!" I yelled back. I ran upstairs to my room and I slammed my door shut and slid my back down the middle, hiding my face in my arms as I pulled my knees close to my chest. my eyes started to water as I looked around my room. I got to decorate it all by myself, to my specific liking.

The floor was polished wood with a black carpet, not shag, but something that wasn't flat, but still hard to clean. My bed was an old victorian bed with green bedding that had silver linen. my curtains were green and black to keep light out but give it that forest-y color. the walls were painted brown and all my furniture fit the old victorian times. I had a desk given to me by my grandmother, on my fathers side, who died of lung cancer about five years ago that I used so many times to write my stories. My closet was a walk-in because my mom decided that since my shoe collection was growing, I might as well have the room with that closet, which was nice of her. But now, I have to go to a new house and get a new theme that won't remind me of my old life. goodbye forest theme, I had no idea what other theme to think of.

I picked myself up and slowly walked to my closet. I brought out all my trunks and organized my clothes into them. I didn't wear many fancy dresses but I did have plenty to get me through any occasion my mom was throwing. I only had stuff I dared to wear. Like my skater and rocker junk. well, it's not junk, I just call it that. Anyway, I packed it all into my trunks and dragged as many as I could downstairs, I had to make a couple trips. when I came up for the last trunk, I got one last look at my old room. I did, however, remember something important. I ran to the loose floor board and lifted it up and set it aside. I dug through straw material and pulled out a rubie necklace. It was my birthstone and it was very valuable, but I kept it hidden under the floor board so it wouldn't get stolen. I tucked it tight in my bra and grabbed the trunk and left.

I reached the car and my mom smiled "I knew you would come around to it" She said placing her hands on her hip. I turned to look at her. This women had taken care of me and had to go through so much pain just to get me here.

I understand that but what I wanted to say to her, had defied all that, but instead, I ended up saying "Well I didn't really have a choice now did I?" then I turned back around and got in the passanger seat. my mom circled the car and spoke through my open window

"You will stop talking to me like that, I am your mother and I will not be given attitude by my daughter!" she said. I didn't respond, I just looked at our ex-house. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she climbed into the drivers seat. she started the car, but took a minute to back out of the drive-way. I looked at her. she was looking straight at the house. Then the car budged and i put my seatbelt on. we backed out first and then the movers did. I looked in the rearview mirror and whispered "Goodbye."

It took a couple days of passing scenery to get there. We stopped for bathroom breaks. I didn't leave the car more than once. I only left once to go pee. But other than that I would wait and listen to my MP3 and read a magazine. I hadn't spoken one word. I just listened to my mom rambling on, or singing old songs from the radio, or her talk to the movers through a walkie-talkie. I got bummed each mile we moved.

My mom shook my shoulder to wake me up "Evangeline, wake up. We're here" I heard her say. I opened my eyes to reveal and even bigger house. It had to have at least another floor to it.

"Mom? This house is huge!" I said

I know. I have a surprise!" She squealed. I opened the door and slumped out of the car. The sun was shining brightly. *Here we are, sweet home, Kentucky* I thought. I walked inside and instantly was welcomed with a new scent of freshly dried paint and cleaner. I covered my nose and walked upstairs. My mom had labeled the doors so I knew which room was mine. I had found a polished oak door with a piece of paper with my name on it, _Evangeline Haven, _it read and I twisted the brass handle and walked inside. The room was beautiful. The walls were white and a really large window, seperated into squares my window panes sat at the front.

One of the Squares opened up to let fresh air in. *Not to self, change in bathroom* I saw my bed in there, the movers had made a head star when my mom stopped at McDonalds. I know, gross. I didn't like my empty room. It needed to be decorated, quick. I brought my trunks into the room and set them down on my victorian trunk. I guess I would keep the furniture, since, well it's furniture. I just have to change the color scheme so I thought, and thought, and thought. I couldn't get anything. I unpacked all my clothes and set them on hangers, in dressers, on shelves, anything really. I stripped my sheets and threw them in a dresser drawer. I was going to get new sheets and move all my stuff into a spare room till I was finished painting my room. I closed my door and locked it shut. I got a hammer and pulled up another floor board. I place my necklace inside and hammered the board down again. I placed a brown x on it, one that blended but you could see it if you got close, and smoothed my rug over it.

I was still disgusted with my room. I grabbed my purse and checked for my wallet. It was still in there. I had plenty of money to get everything I needed. I walked downstairs. My mom was directing furniture. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the keys to the car.

"Where are you going evangeline?" she asked. I winced and turned around.

"I'm going shopping mother. My room is bland and needs things" I said

"fine" she replied and let me go with a flick of her hand.

I turned back around and walked to the car.

"Crap!" I said. I didn't know where any malls or stores or antique shops were. I got back out and sat in the grass. I thought and thought. Then I eventually lay my head down.

"It's Beautiful grass huh? it's especially nice when the sprinklers turn on." someone said. my eyes popped open and I jumped up. It was a boy, about my age, sixteen. He was really tall and wore skater clothes.

"who are you?" I asked

"My name is Josh Hutcherson." He said smirking

"okay?" I asked

"What? you don't know me?" he asked stunned

"Um, no. should I?"

"I'm an actor, I'm in movies. You know, like 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'? or how about 'Bridge to Terabithia'? Come on! I did 'Howls Moving Castle' too!" He said

"Howls moving Castle? That's my favorite movie! who's characters voice did you do?"

"Markl." He replied.

"Woah" I breathed out. "That's awesome"

"Well at least you know something I was in" He said

"Well I've never met a celebrity before. This is pretty cool." I said letting out my hand, he shook it and smiled. "So Josh, I was wondering if you could help me, I'm trying to find a place to shop but I'm confused. I just got here today and I can't find anywhere to go."

"Well I would be delighted to show you around, as long as my brother can come with. His name is Connor. I warn you, he's a little bit of a flirt around girls." Josh said. I blinked twice and watched a smaller boy but still a bit older came to Josh's side. "Hey Connor this is...um- I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?" Josh asked

"Oh it's Evangeline, Evangeline Haven. it's nice to meet you Connor." I said shaking his hand.

He firmly grasped my hand and kissed the top of it.

"No, the pleasure is all mine." He said

"A little cheesy fellow isn't he?" I asked smiling up at Josh. He started laughing. Connor punched him in the stomach playfully.

"Shut up Josh, your the reason Every girl I meet just laughs at me!" He said. That made Josh burst into tears.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I just had a little..problem, it's gone now, it's gone now" He said holding his very sore stomach.

"Um, shall we go?" I said point to the car with my two thumbs.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Josh said as he climbed into the passenger side and I climbed into the driver seat. Connor hopped in the back. I started the car and drove away from the cul-de-sac. Josh would point out everything while we were driving. LITERALLY! he pointed out bakeries and parks, museams and arcades, he pointed out friendly neighbors and houses he heard were haunted. He showed me little antique shops and malls and showed me schools and nice restaurants. Pretty much everything there was to see. I especially loved the craft and book store.

We visited this old antique shop when I saw it. The most beautiful sculpture i'd seen in years. It was hand blown glass in the shape of a green and blue dolphin, a mermaid circling around it and kissing the dolphins nose, her hair was blowing everywhere, she was beautiful. I immediately took it from the shelf and took it to the front counter. it was only $15, which was a steal.

"It's about time someone bought this old thing, it's been sitting in my shop for twenty-five years" The old store owner said. He looked over and saw Josh standing next to me "Hello Joshua, who's your friend here?" He asked pointing to me

"oh This is Evangeline, Evangeline this is Nick. He's owned _Saint Mystere _for years." I giggled a little and shook the store owners old frail hand

"It's very nice to meet you, I love your shop." I said

"Well you have good taste miss Evangeline, come back anytime." He said and I waved goodbye. we got back in the car and an idea hit me so hard in the back of the head, I could've flown through the windshield

"I GOT IT!" I said. Josh jumped and let go of his seatbelt, since he was buckling up.

"What? What?" he asked startled. I looked at him with wide eyes

"My room theme, back home in New York, it was the forest, but I figured out what I want my theme to be here, in Kentucky."

"what?" Connor asked

"The ocean. Mermaids and dolphins, fish and reefs, the whole thing!" I said excitedly, I placed the sculpture carefully in the seat next to Connor, having him promise not to break it. Next, we went to the store and I decided to look for some curtains and bedding.

Josh helped me look through catalogs while Connor volunteered to see what bed displays were beds and which were just cardboard boxes decorated like beds. Josh and I had looked through over four catalogs before we found the right bedding. It was a silk comforter that was an aqua color and the pillow cases were green and blue, a couple swirled and I bought a couple pre-made pillow's that had mermaid patches on them, and pictures of colorful reefs. I walked through the curtain section, but forgot I was shopping, because Josh, Connor, and I played a little game of hide and seek. The curtain displays worked so well. I was hiding behind some curtains when I heard josh's voice

"Hey Evangeline, did you know your standing behind some curtains that might work for your room?" He said I walked out and Josh wasn't even facing me "I FOUND YOU!" he said. He had cheated.

"You cheater!" I yelled.

"No, I wasn't! The curtains you were standing behind are green." He said. I looked.

"They're teal." I said.

"same thing." I just looked at him. They actually really matched my bedding. so I paid for them. Just two more things to take care of. I needed a new rug and wall paint. I had a few hundred dollars left, maybe $400 left. I bought aqua colored paint and light blue, so I could make my room look like the ocean, I also bought different shades of gray so my mom could draw a dolphin or two. I ended buying a blue rug and that would delivered the next day. My room was all ready for Kentucky. Josh suggested that we stop at an ice cream shop before we headed home and crashed for the night.

"So, that was an eventful day wasn't it?" he said. I took a bite of my peppermint ice-cream and nodded my head. Connor got chocolate and Josh got mint-chocolate chip. I left a tip for the nice waitress and drove me and my new friends home.

Connor immediately went home but Josh stayed and helped me load all my new items into my room. He brought in the last of the bedding and I rested our hands on our hips to get a good look at the room.

"Thanks Josh, I may have only met you today but you've been such a big help, I don't think I could've done this all on my own." I smiled and whipped my head in his direction to flash it his way. He was eyeballing my empty walls and stripped bed with the boxes everywhere.

"Would you like me to help you paint it?" He offered suddenly. I looked over the room and went over all the work I had cut out for me in my head. I scrunched my nose.

"Yeah I might need your help, how about Saturday?" I asked. He scratched his head and looked at me, then at my room again.

"Yeah that could work, I have to be here around three, is that okay?" He asked

"Yeah.""Alright I'll see you then.""yeah see you." Then he turned and walked downstairs. I hear him say G'bye to my mom and then I watched out my window as he walked to his house. He was about to walk inside when he turned and looked straight at me. He waved. I had felt a tingly sensation travel up my spine and took the courage to wave back, having felt silly for watching him go. But he had turned around and walked inside, his door shining a ray of light on the blackened road of a cul-de-sac in lil 'o' Kentucky.


	2. Chapter 2

It was freezing cold in my room the next day. It seemed that I forgot to close my window last night before I fell asleep. I hadn't realized that Kentucky was cold in the morning. I grabbed the sweatshirt that I left on the edge of my bed. I wrapped myself tightly and got up from my bed. I was to close the window when I saw Josh outside. He had two leashes in his hands and two dogs that were wearily wandering around. One was sniffing the mailbox outside his house, the other was simply sitting next to Josh. I smiled and closed the window. I quickly brushed out my hair and put it up in a ponytail.  
I quickly got dressed and ran downstairs. My mom was drinking coffee and enjoying breakfast. When she heard me coming, she looked up and smiled towards me.  
"Good morning Evangeline. I see your adjusting to the new house much better than you thought, right?" She asked a little smug. I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, if you mean Josh, he's my friend and he's only helping me with my room and navigating through this one-horse town." I claimed nonchalantly. I didn't want her thinking I still wasn't angry with her. I poured myself some orange juice and sat next to her, taking sections of the newspaper that she had already read. I could tell she was eyeing me because she was very still for a moment.  
"Honey, I know your still angry with me, but that doesn't give you the right to insult this town. It's a great community and filled with wonderful people." a smile in her voice appeared on the last two words. I took a drink of my OJ hoping to just drop the subject, but knowing my mother she would press the matter farther. "Tell me about this Josh person." She said folding her hands on her elbows and leaning forward onto the table. I placed my cup back down safely between the palms of my hands.  
"Mom, I don't even know him. I just met him yesterday. I can't tell you anything really." I said simply, shrugging my shoulders carelessly. She just huffed. "Besides, how would you even know who he is." I asked. Her eyes brightened. I obviously had pulled her into making me talk more about him.  
"Well when you see a stranger running through your house, your going to want to stop him too." She said and laughed slightly.

"You spoke to him when he left last night?" I asked a little shocked.

"Yes I did."

"Well? What did you say? What did he say? Mom I swear."

"Evangeline, calm down. I asked who he was and he said he was Josh Hutcherson and that he was a neighbor."

"And you don't know who he is?"

"Of course I know who he is! He's Josh Hutcherson! He was in movies. Why I am so persistent is because my daughter doesn't tell me when she meets celebrities anymore." My mother sniffled and pretended to cry. I rolled my eyes and put my cup in the sink and kissed my moms cheek and went back upstairs. I took the paints that I had bought yesterday and a tub to mix them together. I poured a little of the blue, and a little of the green and made a new color. It was beautiful. I wrapped it and stored in the fridge so that I could use it on Saturday when Josh was to help.  
In about an hour, I was to take my registration down to the school and get my schedule for the day. The name of the School was Ryle High. I had showered and threw on the same clothes. Ripped Jeans and a plain white T shirt with a black vest. I threw on my black and white Converse and grabbed my keys. My mom filled my bag with the registration papers and some binders and paper just in case. She said goodbye and I was out the door.  
I was driving down the busy streets as I tried to listen to the radio and read directions. I was at a stoplight when I huffed and turned off the radio. I turned onto a long winding road that did nothing but curve and I came to an interesting intersection. It was small and had a great view of the school. The parking lot was wide set and I found a parking space in no time at all. Kind of close to the school. I got out and could see my breath. It was cold and I had forgotten my jacket. I ran inside the school with the tip of my nose pink and I'm sure my lips were purple.  
I rubbed my arms up and down one another to make some warmth and I wandered around the halls looking for a sign that would direct me to the office. Eventually I heard the bell ring, it wasn't shrill but it wasn't pleasant either. Students started rushing from classrooms and in opposite directions of the hallway. Some eyed me curiously and others just bumped passed me without a simple "Pardon" or "Excuse me". I felt like I was home. I saw a brunette girl walking in the hall. She was carrying a load of text books and hadn't seen me and we bumped into each other. She dropped about half the books and adjusted her glasses and sighed.

"Well I won't say this is the first time but I will say it's the last." She said picking up the books angrily. I bent down to help her. "I'm really sorry. I'm just new here and I don't know where to go." I said stacking two textbooks in her hands. She crinkled her nose to push up her loose glasses. I picked up the last book and set it on top of the pile. The books went to the middle of her chest and leaned against her small body. She looked like she was going to fall over. She was very pretty through the amount of textbooks that I saw drop. She looked at me and her eyes were a bright green behind her glasses.

"Well what are you looking for?" she asked, obviously pleased that I helped her with the books.

"I'm new and trying to get my schedule." I said directing to the twisting halls. I looked back at her and she was giggling a little.  
"Well your in the wrong wing. You have to turn down this hallway" She said pointing around the corner of the hallway we were in. "And then keep going straight until you hit the fire extinguisher in the case and then turn that corner too. Then you just follow that hall until you get to an opening of pillars and that's where the office is. If they guide you to another office, just ask them for directions and you can get your schedule from there okay?" She said. I smiled and felt my heartbeat slow from sweet relief.

"Thank you so much. I wouldn't get anywhere without you- uh?"

"Sam. My name is Sam." She stated

"Sam. It's nice to meet you. I'm Evangeline." I said and then there was an awkward silence between us.  
She crinkled her nose once more and said "Well it was great meeting you Evangeline but I have to get these books to Mr. Shwarter. He's not a patient man." and with that, we said our goodbyes and she and I were off. I rounded the corner and watched carefully where I was stepping so that I wouldn't bump into anyone. I found the fire extinguisher and rounded the corner. The hallways sort of curved so I knew what she meant when she said "Just follow that hall." I found the pillars that she was talking about, they stretched high to the ceiling and led to another entrance of the school. I felt stupid for not going through that entrance.  
I walked up the glass door and opened the door. It just simply needed a little push and you could go right in. I found two separate desks. Only one woman was sitting at one of them. She was typing away at her computer and was on the phone at the same time. I found a chair and rested my backpack at my feet and waited as she talked into the receiver. She was smiling throughout the phone call and then she turned her head and saw me then held up one finger in response. I was already waiting so I didn't exactly know why that was necessary. I looked outside of the glass and watched some students walk in the halls. They all looked really friendly. I saw Sam walking. Her arms free of the books and a shoulder on her arm. She pushed her square rimmed glasses up to the bridge of her nose and went up to a blond boy and kissed him. The boy smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. The smile on her face was sweet. They walked away together and I couldn't help but smile at her.

"So spying on people is your new thing huh?" I heard someone say. I turned and saw Josh poking his head through the door. I instantly felt great knowing that someone I knew went to the school.  
"What are you doing here?" I asked curiously. He rolled his eyes and took a seat next to me, pulling his backpack off his shoulders.

"I go here smarty pants. I'm not shooting a movie so I'm not being home schooled. That's just how it is." He said matter-of-factly. It was interesting with him. He was the type of person that you would definitely want to be friends with, because he wouldn't ever leave you alone.

"Well honestly I'm a little relieved. That girl that I just so happened to have spied on, gave me directions here." I said.

"Oh she did? Well that was nice of her. If you think she's great, you should meet her twin sister Brooke. They both are nice but Brooke is the, 'God I just love your hair, Oh em gee, where did you get your shirt?' kinda girl. It's really annoying after a while but she's pretty cool." he said talking like a valley girl during the quotes. I laughed and the receptionist shushed us. Josh just smiled. He was very cute when he did.  
"Don't worry about her. She's on the phone with her husband. They're newly weds and she's crazy over him. It's great actually. Every kid that gets sent in here gets sent right back out. Hasn't been many detentions lately." He laughed to himself. I looked over at her. She was ignoring me for a personal call? I wasn't having that. I felt pretty frustrated all of a sudden. Josh took notice.  
"Look its whatever. Just let her finish her call. You'll get whatever you need fast enough, I'll stay with you if you like." he said. I calmed a little. I just smiled at him and we talked for a while. The receptionist laughed every once in a while and whispered whenever a teacher would walk by. Obviously her husband got the idea that she was taking time away from her job and they said their goodbyes. "Finally." I thought to myself. She smiled up at us and waved her hand to me so that I would go to her. I stood and handed her the registration. She took it gladly.

"Ah Evangeline, we were expecting you." She said and reached into the filing cabinet and pulling out my schedule. She handed it to me and I took it gladly. "Welcome to Ryle high school." She said with a sweet smile and Josh and I left the office. He snatched my schedule from me and looked it over.

"We have two classes together. The other six, you're on your own." he said handing it back. A sly smile crept up on his lips. I crinkled my nose at him.  
"Well you should be lucky. It could've been less!" I said with a laugh. "True." he stated and showed me around to my classes. I had time to stay for the last fifteen minutes of my last class of the day. It was marketing. It was an fairly easy class. All we did was sit computers and read packets and listen to the teacher prance on about the school shop that he owned.

After Class Josh drove in front of me. He asked me to follow him home. He called my cell phone and we talked to each other on the way, no matter how dangerous. "Look, all I'm saying is that you're not going to fit in wearing that stuff from stuffy old New York." He said. I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see. "You can say what you want Josh but I like the way I look. I'm unique. The girl from New York."

"Phff, more like the girl who dresses like a band groupie."

"Excuse me, I take that as a compliment!" I stated pressing a little harder on the break than I wanted. I dropped the phone on the ground and had to press the hang up button with my shoe. I didn't want to cause a collision. Josh honked his horn in front of me and I could feel my phone vibrate as it played "Weightless" By All Time Low. I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car and grabbed the phone. Josh parked at his house and came running over. "Hey what happened?" He asked a little irritated.

"I dropped my phone. Hell if I was going to pick it up." I laughed.

"Ah, I thought something happened to you. Like you got car jacked and some crazy person was following me home." His smile was wicked. Obviously he was joking but he did sound like he was concerned.

"Oh your such a great person." I said sarcastically. I took my keys and started walking up the pathway to the door. Josh grabbed my arm. "Hey Evangeline wait a minute." He asked. I turned around and pushed some hair from my eyes and brushed it behind my ear.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over tomorrow? You know after we paint? I want to fully welcome you to the neighborhood. Your mom can come too. Just for dinner." He said averting his eyes ever now and then to explain. I smiled sweetly and put my keys in my pocket.

"I'd love to Josh." He smiled and said that he would see my later and ran back home. I went inside and tossed my keys aside. I set my backpack down and went upstairs to unpack more stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

Josh had come over the next day with his crazy paint pants on and a baggy shirt that he said he was saving in the back of his closet. I had to laugh because they did look funny on him. Like he was supposed to be obese but he wasn't. We instantly broke out the paint and started on the room. Josh had the southern wall and I had the northern one. His brush strokes were very even and swift. After we painted those walls, we started on the last two and the ceiling. Josh wanted to paint my door but I told him that was mine. After I finished my last wall, Josh was still on his and wasn't close to even being halfway done.  
So I took the special paint that I made and took it out of the fridge and used it to make waves on the walls. It was perfect for the texture of seaweed and perfect for that undersea look. When Josh finished, he studied my technique, took a brush and started helping me. Each stroke we made looked more and more like the sea. My mom had been gone all day so I wouldn't get my dolphins until tomorrow but that's okay.

Josh had taken the liberty to paint my cheeks and I painted his forehead. We were having fun until I decided that we would ruin my new room. We left the paint to finish drying while we went downstairs to eat something. In about two hours, I was to start getting ready to head over to Josh's house to have dinner. I was only hoping that my mom would be home in time to go with me since she was invited.

"So, I think we did very well today. I mean, I would definitely say so." Josh said taking a big bite of his sandwich and chewed hungrily.

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel really confident with my room. The theme should come out great. Plus, I get to go out and buy more antiques for it." I stated

"Oh so you already have a job here?"

"No I don't, but I had money saved up for the move and I decided oh hey why not?"

"Oh really? Well I think I can help you out. Nick needs help at his shop because he's just getting too old. So maybe you can apply there and help him out a little?"

"Well that sounds like a promising job that l'm sure I can handle. I think that would be fine." I said drinking the rest of my juice and set my dishes in the dishwasher. Josh followed shortly after.

After I showered and was ready to arrive at Josh's humble abode, I waited on the couch with him for my mother to get home. She had called and said she was going to be a few minutes late but so far, it's been more than a few. Josh had called his parents to explain but they didn't appreciate the extra time. It was a half an hour later when my mom came home. She was throwing on nice shoes when she crashed through the door and yelled at us to started walking to Josh's house. She had been getting ready in the car. We hastily walked to Josh's house and Connor greeted us inside. We said hello to Josh's parents and were welcomed into the dining room. If his parents were really irritated then I really couldn't tell. The house smelled highly of roast and pasta. It was alluring. I sat in between Josh and Connor and my mom sat next to Josh's parents.

The food that Josh's parents had served us was quite delicious and I was very thankful for it. The chat around the table was very fluent and lively. I talked to Josh and Connor mostly and watched Connor toss a couple pieces of his roast to the dogs that were mostly resting their heads on Josh's lap and had puppy dog faces just asking for him to give them food. I laughed very much when Connor threw food in their direction. My mom seemed to be having a great time even for being late. I also thought she was dressed too nicely. Being a real estate agent makes my mom dress to nice for occasions. On her last date she wore a silk white dress with strapped heals and a small fake tiara. She looked like a prom queen. Her date, Miguel, didn't seem to mind.

Miguel is my mom's most recent boyfriend; she doesn't talk about him much so I assume that they broke up. She never talks about him and as soon as she stopped, we moved. I actually didn't mind Miguel. Sure he tried to hard to be buddy, buddy with me but usually mom's boyfriends try to make friends with her offspring. I really hadn't minded at all but sometimes he was just too much, he brought over gifts and tried to hang out with me when I had friends over. I still don't mind him to this day but I sometimes wonder what had happened to Miguel.

After dinner, my mom had tea with Josh's parents in the living room and Josh took the liberty to show me his bedroom. It was huge. I had thought that celebrities had big rooms but wow. His room was insane. He apparently was obsessed with shoes because he has an insane collection that even I had to admit was scary. His collection was bigger than my own and at least I wore all the shoes I owned!

"Impressive isn't it?" He asked. He was obviously being a show off but how could he not when I was standing there my mouth agape at his famous wall of shoes?

"Jeez Josh, do you like to walk a lot or just show people your shoe collection? I could never own this many shoes!" I said.

"Well I enjoy shoes. Collecting them is a hobby. Just liked my obsession with cars? I have those too."

"Yeah but most boys I know have obsessions with cars, the only difference is they aren't rich. This is intimidating." Josh laughed in amusement and took a show off the shelf and handed it to me.

"This is my favorite shoe; it's customized and just to my liking." He said. The shoe had purple fabric inside and on the side was a gold stitched face of a man I believe was a basketball player.

"It took me a while to get it but I was very excited when I got to see them that very first day, I took them and held them forever!" He said snatching the shoe away and holding it close. I laughed. His enthusiasm for shoes was a bit creepy but it was very entertaining. He placed it on the shelf and I went and sat in his huge bed. I'm not sure I liked the life of a celebrity but Josh seemed to take all these belonging and act just like me.

The next day, my mom stayed in my room all day to draw the dolphins I wanted. Josh and I stayed in my living room and he brought over some video games that we played. Although I didn't own an XBOX 360, he brought his over and we played on that. I kind of enjoyed it but at the same time felt like a nerd. Josh beat me at Halo and I assumed he would. I hated the game afterwards. My rug was delivered and they refunded me about a third of my money for being late with the delivery, which I wasn't angry about so I loved having the extra cash.

When Josh went home that night, I stayed in my room and colored in the dolphins. Of course I was on the phone with Josh when my mom knocked on the door. When she came in, she had a huge smile on her face. I finished the tail of the first dolphin and turned her way. She squealed and jumped up and down in excitement.

"What?" I asked her.

"Well remember when you asked why we have such a big house and I said it's a surprise?"

"Yeah?" I asked curiously.

"Well sweetheart, I'm pregnant!" She said squealing again. I looked at her shocked. The information sinking in slowly but finally it hit me. An arm snaked around my mom's waist. A darkened arm, quite obviously tanned. Josh kept asking "hello?" on the other line but I pressed the off button. A full body came into view with the arm. A tall man with dark hair, His brown eyes shiny and bright with exuberance. His lips pulled back over his teeth in a wide smile and he was dressed so nicely the President might have been beaten.

"Honey, you remember Miguel?" My mother spoke.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day started out like this; I got up, my mom took my car. I caught a ride with Josh. I ran into another girl, this time she hated me. I also spilled milk on my pants, causing me to try and rinse it in the bathroom but the large spill looked like the shape of a deformed cat on my jeans. It was not the best day of my life.

I would have taken my mothers car if she had left her keys in the jar but she seemed to have left them in her purse and seems to think that my Corolla is her BMW. I'm not sure how my mother can function in the morning, even after having four cups of coffee just to finish the paperwork for a house she swears she's "on the verge of selling". I have told her several times not to take my keys and I even got a copy so that my key was purple so she wouldn't even think about taking a purple key over her silver one but once again, my mother tends to ignore me.

While at school, I ran into Heather Highland. Apparently she is the gothic chick of the school and she is very vicious. She was hanging out with her weird gothic buddies while we were in P.E. and I didn't see her so I ran into her, knocking her over. A pendant that was around her neck flew across the room and she glared at me so viciously, I thought her eyeballs were going to fly out of her head. I pulled her up and apologized too much and fetched her pendant. She snatched from my hands and told me "Lucifer will have his revenge". After that I didn't apologize. I just assumed she was crazy. Josh grabbed my arm and pulled me away from that situation.

"You really don't want to mess with Heather. She isn't all there." He stated staring at the teacher as he blew his whistle signaling the students to go to the locker rooms.

"Yeah thanks Josh, she's the least of my worries right now so I don't really care."

"Whoa, tude! What's your problem?" He asked grabbing my arm, making it that much harder to go to the locker room. The teacher took notice and blew his whistle again to get us to hurry up and change.

"I'll tell you later." I said and yanked my arm from his grip and walked into the locker room to change.

At lunch I told Josh about my mother's pregnancy and how she surprised me by bringing Miguel back into the house. I hadn't known whether Josh really cared or not but I needed a friend and right now, he was the only one I had. Especially since Heather has been spreading rumors around that I'm some evil person who deserves to be spited by an evil spirit. All this for knocking her over!

"Wow. That sounds really intense Evangeline, Maybe you should reconsider the whole 'mom I'm mad at you for making us move' thing." He said throwing away his garbage in the garbage can that sat behind us against a pillar.

"Well I'm trying but now I'm mad at her for not telling me that she was pregnant and making me move for it was part of the plan to tell me in the first place. I'm finding it that much harder to get along with her everyday." I said taking the last bite of my taco, even though they didn't taste good, I was starving and it was nice to get something in my stomach.

After school, Josh drove me home by parking in his driveway and walking me to my house. When I got inside, my mom left me a note. It said:

Dear Angel,

Miguel and I went out to eat for lunch. There are leftovers in the fridge or you can make whatever, I don't care. I'll see you later tonight, I have another surprise.

Love,

Mom

'Great, another surprise' I thought. I took a soda from the fridge and handed another to Josh. Ever since I moved here about a week ago, Josh has been over non-stop. It's weird being best friends with a celebrity.

"So Evangeline I have some shocking news for you, and you may not like it." Josh said making the cracking sound as he opened up his soda.

"Oh really?" I asked heating up the left over enchiladas my mom made.

"I'm doing a movie; it's called The Vampires Assistant so I won't be here for a few months."

"What? No Josh! No! Come on, you're my only friend here!" I said sitting next to him and pulling on his shirt. He took my hands and threw them off and smoothed out his shirt.

"Yeah I'm sorry Evangeline but I have to go. This is how I make money and I make a lot to be quite honest." I huffed at Josh's cockiness and lay back against the couch. I looked at him and he just looked at me and I huffed again. Josh sighed and smacked his shoulder. Then I smacked it again and again until he finally stood up and said "enough."

"I can't help it Josh. Who else am I supposed to hang out with and if you say Connor I will hit your face this time."

"Oh Connor isn't that bad," Josh moving his shoulders in a circle to straighten out his shirt completely "and I wasn't going to recommend that. A good friend of mine is coming in next month to visit my family and she could say hi to you if you like."

"Who is she?"

"Anna Sophia Robb. She was in another movie with me."

"Now I know her." I stated smugly and Josh jumped up in the air

"How do you know her but not me?" He asked pretending to be furious.

"I was kidding. Don't have a fit. I haven't seen a new movie since I was a little girl. I've always watched the same movies every time I get to that point." I laughed.

"What point?" Josh asked getting up to get the enchiladas that I left in the microwave. I guess he could smell them and suddenly got hungry.

"The point where I'm just in the mood to watch a movie you know? I guess you don't since you are in movies and your point only happens when you're on the couch and think 'I think I'll do a movie today'." I said in a low manly voice to mock Josh. He wrinkled his nose and took a bite of the enchiladas as he handed me a fork so that I could take a bite too.

"Anyways, how is your room looking?" He asked with his mouth full. I chuckled

"It looks great. The paint is all dry and the furniture is in place and I have that glass figure on the table next to my bed. Although I saw that the mermaid is supposed to be holding something but I guess it broke off or something before I bought it."

"Probably." Josh said I set my fork down and just looked at him for a little while. He was cute even when he was stuffing his face.

"So who are you working with in the movie?" I asked. Josh swallowed and looked at me

"Are you sure? You might not know who they are." He said and I playfully punched his arm

"No seriously."

"Okay, I'm working with John C. Reilly and Chris Massoglia. They're the main characters. Chris is playing my best friend who wants to become a vampire at a circus that we sneak into and John is the original vampire in the show. It's a devious plot. You should see the movie when it comes out."

"We'll see. And just for your information, I know who John C. Reilly is."

"Oh yeah? How do you figure sport?" He said in a funny voice.

"Stepbrothers."

"I thought you didn't see newer movies?" He quoted in a smart alac tone

"I didn't see it. I saw a preview." I laughed as Josh's face twisted.

Josh went home later that night and my mom had taken a while to get home. I wondered what she was doing but I guess it wasn't important. She was probably messing around at clubs, denying alcoholic beverages ad dancing with Miguel. Or she's at a late dinner. I honestly didn't care. I went to sleep early because I felt exhausted from school and all the happenings lately. I was only hoping that tomorrow, things would get better.


	5. Chapter 5

I was in Honors English listening to the teacher preach on about Fredrick Douglass and I had started to fall asleep, that is, until Brooke leaned over and had me pass a note over to her sister Sam. Usually they both ignored me, which I found a little rude since I did have a small conversation with Sam and helped her pick up her books. But then I remember that I knocked them over and our conversation only consisted of where I could go to pick up my schedule. The whole class was nothing but them passing notes to each other. When the bell rang, I become thankful and rushed out of the class so that I could meet Josh for lunch.

Josh greeted me with a hug and to my surprise, a rose. I took it and smelled it gratefully.

"What's this for?" I asked smelling it again as he placed his hand on the small of my back and lead me to a table where a plate of tacos and a plate with a sandwich sat. It's what Josh and I ate everyday.

"Well since I'm going away in a couple of days, I want the rest of our time together to be friendly and fantastic."

"Friendly and fantastic? This should be interesting." I laughed heartedly. Josh pulled out a small vase and poured some of his glass of water into it and I placed my rose inside. We ate our lunch and talked fluently about what would happen over the next four months.

When I got home I threw my key on the hook and kicked my shoes off. I found Miguel eating at our table alone and heard my mom singing in the shower. She was terrible. I glared at Miguel's back and took a seat next to him. He smiled at me smugly and I continued to frown. He blinked and swallowed hard, then looked away. He regained himself by taking in a deep breath and looking at me again.

"Hey Kid. How was school today?"

"Fine." I answered.

"Did anything fun happen?"

"No." I said ignoring the vase with the rose that was in the side pocket of my backpack.

"Look Evangeline, I don't want anything to be weird between us. I'm sorry for making you move and for surprising you with the pregnancy but I'm telling you, your mother and I had this planned for weeks, and we're surprised that you never heard a word of it." He claimed

"Je n'aime pas tu." I spoke French to confuse him. I didn't want to tell him that I hated him so I just went with what I thought he wouldn't understand.

"What?" He asked. 'Bingo' I thought.

"Evangeline be nice." I saw my mother coming out with a towel around her neck and she was drying her hair. She on her robe and slippers and wasn't wearing any makeup.

"Va-t'en" My mother said. I growled and got up and went away. I locked my bedroom door and opened up the blinds to let light in my room. I sat at my desk and scribbled furiously in the notebooks and had wished Josh was there. I placed the vase with the flower on my desk and looked at it for a while. Then I lay in my bed and waited for the day to be over so that Saturday could come.

The next day I spent with Josh, tomorrow he was to get on a plane and be in New Orleans to start filming by Tuesday. We went all over town. We ate at a special restaurant and sat on my car outside the airport and went back to the ice cream shop. We tried to visit as many places as possible.

"You know Evangeline; you have a really pretty name. I just want to point that out."

"Evangeline?"

"No, Your full name. It's just amazing."

"I don't think so. You have an awesome name."

"No I don't, my name is normal. Evangeline Rhythm Haven is so unique and it's amazing."

"Hm, well that's your opinion." I said and josh leaned over me while I licked my ice cream.

"You see? You can't accept compliments. You're terrible at it." He laughed. And lay back on the car and ate his ice cream as another plane flew high above us.

"I can so accept a compliment Josh, Shut up." I said staring at the bright blue sky. There weren't any clouds today. It was just sunny and a few birds were flying by making they're way home.

"Well you try but you fail." He said.

"Tu fermes en." I spoke.

"What? You speak French? Haha, that's so odd."

"How is that odd? My mom and I took classes when I was younger; she says the skill of being bilingual will help me in the future." I said.

"Oh well then I guess it's cool." He said. I playfully hit his arm as we watched another plane make a roaring sound as its heavy metal body flew high above our heads.

Josh and I were sitting on my couch watching movies that night; Miguel had taken my mother out again. He was trying his best to treat her right which I truly liked. I still didn't trust Miguel, he had this whole scheme to make me move to Kentucky then I didn't want him here with us. Josh brought over some movies that were newer that I hadn't seen. As a joke, he brought over Stepbrothers and Bridge to Terabithia. We were watching the movies quietly when Josh snaked his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I thought he was just being nerdy so I let him. We watched the movies and waited patiently for my mother and Miguel to get home.

"So what happened to your dad?" Josh asked. I looked at him completely unaware of where this question had come from.

"Well, my mom and dad broke up some years ago. My dad got eloped to some pretty blonde stripper who dropped her job to live with my dad." Josh listened intently. He didn't tear away his gaze as he was being serious. No one had ever asked about my dad so it felt good to open up to him. "Then a couple years after that marriage my father passed away. He had liver and lung cancer. He was a smoker and couldn't help it. Even when he found out that he had it, he kept smoking." I said. I shrugged my shoulders and Josh pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry Evangeline." He said. I felt almost sad at that moment. But I did all my grieving when my father passed.

Josh grabbed all his movies and put them in the cases. I walked him to the door. When I opened it, a cool breeze caressed my face and Josh quickly slipped passed me. He stood in front of me and pulled his jacket close to his skin.

"Getting cold out there?"

"No, but I'm sure it's getting cold in there." He stated with a laugh. I laughed as well. Then josh leaned over and gave me a hug. This wasn't an ordinary hug though. It was long and intimate. He rubbed his hands slowly on my back and pulled my hair around my shoulders so that it dropped down around my shoulders. When he pulled back he smiled and said goodbye. I watched him go up to his house and open the door, letting that ray of light be cast on the cul-de-sac. When he closed his door I realized that I was still standing there, freezing cold and letting the hot air out. So I closed my door and let all the cold air in Kentucky, stay out.


	6. Chapter 6

Josh and I were waiting in the lobby of the airport. His plane was leaving in half an hour and I was to wait with him. He wouldn't let me leave not matter what was happening. My mom had an ultrasound appointment so Miguel had dropped me off and went to the doctors to see my mom. He was to be here in exactly fifteen minutes. Or I'd kill him.

"It's awesome that you came Evangeline. I really appreciate it. I didn't want to get on the plane without saying goodbye to some one that I knew." He laughed nervously. I was sitting in a chair reading a magazine and had put it down to reply to him.

"Well I really had no choice, Josh. You kind of forced me to go or you would be a gaudy decoration for my room and would nail it to the wall when I wasn't looking." I said. He laughed more easily.

"You know I'm only joking."

"Well I am too. Why wouldn't I say goodbye to my only friend in Kentucky for four months?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders and took a handful of skittles and put them in his mouth. We visited the grocery store before we got here and bought a rather large bag of skittles. Josh told me not to eat them all during his days away. How could I eat an entire bag of skittles this gigantic? Exactly.

Although I enjoy skittles very much, I just don't see myself eating them at an obscene rate.

When Josh had to go he said goodbye and gave me another long hug, just as he had last night. I smiled and waved him goodbye and he boarded the plane. I walked outside the airport and hadn't seen Miguel. He was late, and I was very angry. I started walking home, which was about a two hour walk from then. I left my wallet at home so I couldn't take the cab or bus so the only option I had left was walking. It was a bit cold outside on that very day so I walked home with nothing but a long sleeves shirt, a scarf, my jeans, and a pair of fingerless gloves. I let my hair down so it would cover my neck. The only problem was that I was blowing all over the place and my bangs kept sticking up. I was starting to get irritated. I was about a half hour away from the airport when Miguel called me and said that he had forgotten. I told him I was walking home and he had the audacity to ask if I was going to be any longer. I was furious. I hung up my phone and started walking again. I tucked my hands away in my arms and kept my head down and looked at my feet. The wind would explode with every thrust it threw at me and was turn my nose another deeper shade of red.

When I got home, I was frozen right down to my toes and it smelled like garlic sticks and lasagna. It smelled so good that I almost forgot I was angry at Miguel. He was cooking in the kitchen. I went up to him and almost yelled at him when he shoved a piece of highly buttered and salted bread in my mouth. It had tasted so good that I didn't speak and just ate it.

"I'm sorry for not picking you up kid. Your mom told me what your favorite dinner was so I'm preparing it. I don't know how to cook lasagna so I bought the Marie Calendars version at the grocery store today. I hope that that's alright." He said taking another bite into the bread sticks.

"Yeah it's fine. I needed to go on a walk anyway. I'm getting fat." I said taking two breadsticks for myself and going to my room. My room was incredibly warm and very comforting. I finished the first breadstick and placed the other on a napkin on my dresser. I moved my rug and lifted away a board and pulled out my necklace. It was still so shiny and beautiful. The red reflected the light and shone beautiful shapes on the wall. I sat on my bed and ate the other breadstick and twirled the necklace in my hand. When I finished the stick I wiped my hands on my pants and looked over at the statue that I bought. The mermaids empty hand made me upset. Until I looked at my necklace and realized that it fits perfectly. I put the jewel in her hand and the glass figurine and red ruby reflected beautiful shadows of color on the walls. The dancing colors made a show just for me, and it was beautiful. In fact, it was so beautiful that I had accidentally fallen asleep.

"Wake up kid. Dinner is ready." Miguel shook me awake and I saw his tan hands on my shoulders shaking me. I stood up from my bed and followed him downstairs. I sat at the table next to my mom who had her hand on her stomach and was eating a large plate of food. Miguel handed me a plate of almost the same size. I ate plenty of it. The delicious lasagna was worth waiting for and I couldn't get enough of the breadsticks. My mom finished and lay back in her chair and rubbed her stomach. I was poking out a little bit. I don't know if it was from eating so much but I'm sure it was from the pregnancy. She looked at me and smiled.

"I'm eleven weeks pregnant. Isn't it great? I can't wait to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl." She said resting both her hands on her belly. I just stared at her for a while and noticed how happy that she looked. I knew this baby meant a lot to her. I wasn't going to make her feel bad for the pregnancy. I was however, going to make her feel bad for letting Miguel come into the house. I mean, I do appreciate the meal that he made for me but I still don't think his method of starting a family were fair. I mean he made me move to Kentucky and leave everything behind. It wasn't fair. I'll be damned if he thinks that moving to Europe would be a good idea if he decided to get a dog.  
"Yeah mom, sounds great, Can't wait to meet the little booger." I said cutely. I ate one last bite of lasagna and went to my room. I sat for hours thinking about the baby and how much our lives would change once he or she was born. Miguel had insisted that they were having a boy so he had bought plenty of blue clothing for the child. I thought he was being stupid but I can't tell him that or my mom would throw a fit and I know how she is with being pregnant. She told me that when she was pregnant with me that she tried to be in a stress free environment and keep eating healthy and sometimes bad so that I can get some sugars in me. She didn't want me to be a skeleton when I was born.

Later that night I thought I heard some pebbles on my window but I soon realized that I was half asleep and dreaming that Josh was throwing them. By now he should still be on the plane and landing in the morning and going on a sixteen hour drive. I felt bad for him but he wanted to do another movie. I was definitely determined to go see the movie, the very first day that it's out in theatres.


	7. Chapter 7

It's been two weeks since Josh left and I missed him terribly. It was very lonely in my home and at school. The only friends I made were with Connor and my mom's stomach. I was sitting on the couch reading a book when I heard a knock on the door. I placed my book on the table and got up to check it. I moved the curtain out of the window by the door and saw a blond girl standing there with a present tucked under her arm. She was perky looking and smiled brightly. I opened the door and her smile widened, if it was possible.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. Her cheeriness was bright and exuberant. She extended her hand and I shook it.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked smiling at her, trying not to look rude.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. This is for you, it's from Josh." She said handing me the present. "I'm Anna Sophia Robb. Josh told me that I should visit you. He said some nice things about you." She said.

"Oh, yeah. He mentioned that you were going to be stopping by, come in." I said and she skipped inside cheerily. I placed the present on the table in the doorway and closed the door.

"Wow, your house is very nice." Anna said. She turned and looked at me. She was so cheery. It was like a rainbow just entered my house.

"Uh, thanks." I claimed "So your friends with Josh? For how long?" I asked.

"For a while. We were in a movie together and then we just kind of started a friendship. May I sit?" She asked gesturing towards the couch.

"Sure. Go for it." I said. My phone rang.

"Excuse me a minute?" I asked

"Sure." She said picking up a people magazine and starting to read it.

"Hello?" I answered.

Josh's flustered voice answered

"Evangeline. Hey." He said. He sounded as if he just ran a mile.

"What? Aren't you in Washington? Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be shooting your movie?" I asked.

"Yeah." He gasped "But I'm taking a break and thought I might give you a call. We just did a scene where I'm running, obviously. It was loads of fun." I couldn't help but laugh "Is Anna there?" He asked

"Yeah. She just got here not too long ago."

"Cheery isn't she?" I nodded my head as if he could see "Told ya. Anyway, if she's there that means you got my gift right?"

"Yeah I did."

"Well did you like it?"  
"I haven't exactly opened it yet." I answered. Josh Sighed.

"Oh Crap, I have to go. We have to start filming again. I'll see you in three and a half months." Then I heard a click and that was it. I looked at the rectangular box that I had set on the table and set my phone in my pocket.

"So that was Josh right?" Anna asked flipping a page in the magazine, Snorting at one of the pages.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess?" She said I rolled my eyes and sat next to her.

"So Josh tells me that your some crazed interior decorator?" She persisted. I looked at her and smiled

"Yeah I am. Would you like to see?" I asked. She nodded yes excitedly. She stood up and followed me to my room. I opened the door and she looked in awe as she fell under the rooms spell, just as I and josh have. She pulled back the teal curtains on my bed and stared at the Satin bedding. She traced her finger along the mermaid sculpture that I had bought only a few weeks ago. She ran her hand along the rim of the dolphins on the wall. She had fallen madly in love with my room. She took a seat on my bed and stared at all my black polished furniture.

"Angel your room is fantastic!" She exclaimed

"Angel?" I asked

"Yeah, it's short for Evangeline."

"No I know. It's just that my mom was the only one who ever called me that. It's just so strange." I said. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to look at my room. I found it so invigorating that someone loved my room just as much as I did.

"This window is great. It covers like your entire wall!" She pointed out standing in front of it. I showed the little square of it that opened up and she looked excited.

"Oh this is great, I just adore your room. It looks so awesome." She said. Then she turned towards me and looked sad.

"Sadly I have to leave now. I'm visiting Josh's family and he only asked me to see you for a little bit of time. It was so great meeting you though." She said and hugged me tightly. Then I walked her to the door and closed it behind her. I thought she was a bit of a strange girl but I soon accepted that.

Later that night, Josh called me again and we only talked for a half an hour before he had to go because he needed sleep. He said that all the shooting was becoming a bit more challenging everyday. He says that he likes the outfits that his character is dressed in and that he somewhat likes the ambition and attitude that his friend gives. He also says that his character turns against his best friend. He said that he liked his part because he felt it brought out the best of his acting abilites. I did miss Josh very much. It was hard getting through every school day without him and it didn't help that he was my only friend in this town.

Brooke has tried to talk to me and her sister, Sam, too. I guess they thought that after weeks of handing notes out in class, they might actually want to talk to their little helper.

It was in the middle of March and my grades were soaring high. They took two of my classes and placed me in advanced courses. I was in a college level English and history class. They were still easy to me and that helped boost my self-esteem.

"So, Evangeline, I hear your best friends with Josh Hutcherson." Brooke said to me as I was walking in the hallway on my way to my locker.

"Yeah, you make him sound he's something amazingly important." I said. I hadn't noticed but she had a British accent. I wondered why I couldn't hear Sam's.

"Well yeah he is. He has a few friends here, but they're not really his friends, more like acquaintances. You're the only one I ever see him talk to anymore. It's absolutely thrilling." She exclaimed. I scrunched my nose and started putting in the combination in my locker.

"Well he really is just a friend to me. He treats me like a normal person. He acts like a normal person. I can't possibly see why I need to get excited about that." I said. I felt a slight tug in my stomach. It almost made me feel sick but I suppressed it and opened my locker door. I could hear Brooke sigh deeply.

"He is so hot! Plus he's an actor. He's very popular and has lots of money to take great care of himself! How can you tell me he's nothing short of an extraordinary person?" She seemed to be trying to pry information from me, but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"You know Brooke; He really is a special person. Sure he is good looking but he's my best friend and yes I do agree that he takes great care of himself," I started. I was slamming books in my locker and making loud noises. "But he is a human being; he treats others like human beings. He even says nice things about you and your sister but you don't realize it because you're too busy fantasizing over what his ass looks like." I grabbed my backpack and lugged it over my shoulder and walked past Brooke, after slamming my locker door shut.

I was sitting on the couch doing some French homework when my mom came bustling through the door. Her stomach was growing everyday. In fact, it was getting a little too large. She was crying. I set down my books and got up and stood in front of her. I placed my hands on her shoulders and asked her what was wrong. Miguel followed in behind her with a big smile on his face.

"It's great news kid. Don't be fooled by her tears. She's crying out of joy." He said. I scowled at him and he backed off into the kitchen, pretending that he had something important to do in there. I turned back to my mom.

"Mom, what happened?" I asked

"I had an ultrasound appointment today." She said through large, gasping sobs. "And the doctor told me that I am having twins!" She said. She burst out into even more tears and walked into the kitchen, probably to drink more orange juice and eat more asparagus. I continued to stand there, shocked. I was going to have not one, but two, younger siblings. This was going to be harder than I thought it would.

I put my books away and brought my backpack upstairs and lay on my bed. I hadn't known what I would do now that I knew that there would be two little pairs of feet running around the house now. I turned on my side and looked deeply at the sculpture that had won my love over the first moment that I had bought it. Then I remembered how Josh was there when I bought it. Then I remembered that he said there was a job opening at the exact same store that I had bought the lovely glass figurine.

I was driving down to Nick's store,_Saint Mystere_, and kept thinking of Josh. I just played music and tried to ignore him and keep him out of my head. I parked across the street and walked into the store. A little bell welcomed me with a sweet small sound. And old man lifted himself from beneath the counter and smiled sweetly at me.

"Well if it isn't Evangeline. It's been too long. How're you my dear?" He asked. His old voice quivering at every word he spoke.

"Oh I'm fine. I just came to apply for the job opening you have here." I asked. His eyes brightened as he reached for a sheet of paper that he had on the shelf under the antique cash register.

"Oh that would fine. Here is the application. I would really enjoy having you work here. Just fill this out, I'll look it over, put the information into the system and you can start tomorrow!" He said excitedly. I was confused though.

"What about an interview though?" I asked

"Oh I think that since I've met you before and you were so kind to a nice old man I can spare you the interview." He laughed heartedly. He pulled down his hat and continued to mess around under the desk.

"Your welcome to look around some more before you leave." He said

"Thanks." I said. I wondered if I could find something to put in my room since I had found something so beautiful only a few weeks before. I was looking at shelves and displays and more glass figurines but none of it attracted my eye as much as the one before. I looked at some picture that he had hanging with little bits of string holding up the price tags on the wall.

I had been in the shop about an hour when I in fact, did find something worth buying. It wasn't for me though. It was for Josh. It was a little trophy oh the same basketball player that he had on the pair of shoes he showed me. There wasn't a name engraved and the golden figure was reaching high with a basketball in his hand and the hoop was only a few centimeters away from his reach. I quickly took it and brought it up to the counter. Nick looked at me confused.

"You want to buy this old thing? I thought you were into the beautiful green smoky glass type things. I had a whole section back there for you to look at in case you came back in." He said and pointed to a section I hadn't seen.

"That's really sweet of you. This isn't for me though. It's for Josh. I know he likes this basketball player so I wanted him to have it." I said. Nick shrugged his shoulders and placed the trophy in a bag and I paid him the money that I owed.

When I went home I placed the trophy in my drawer so that I would never lose it and once again lay on my bed. It was getting dark outside and I could see the moon bright and shiny in the sky. I eventually felt so tired that I had accidentally fallen asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a whole month since Josh left. I was so alone here all by myself. I always held his trophy close. I think I was starting miss him a little too much. I didn't exactly have that many friends so having Josh around was a real joy for me. My mom and Miguel were just so excited about the twins and Connor came by a couple times for dinner and it was really nice having him around because he reminded me so fondly of his brother. It was March 20th. My mother was due to give birth on July 30th. I was excited, believe me, but I just wasn't ready to baby-sit every time my mom wanted to go out. I liked being around Josh. Maybe when he invited me somewhere important, I won't be able to go because my mom will want me home to watch the little ones.

I was at school listening to my homeroom teacher drawl on the subject of budget cutbacks. It really wasn't an entertaining subject but obviously I could tell that it was really important to him. I was watching Sam and Brooke again. Those two loved to be around each other. I guess it was a twin thing that I hadn't had the chance to think about. It did remind me of my mom all the time though. Seeing those two together made me think of what my new siblings would be like. Sam and Brooke were complete opposites that it surprised me about how often they liked being around one another with arguing. I guess that was also another twin thing that I'll never get the chance to understand.

After school, I was driving home and admiring the small Kentucky town. It wasn't so bad. I just missed my friends and everything that I was used to. But I will admit that it was completely unhealthy to lock myself to one friend. I say this because he's gone and I'm alone and I hate being alone. I need the social connection with someone. It would be great if I could meet one person that isn't a celebrity that actually likes to hang out with someone who's only interest is really interior decorating. I guess I will have to figure that out another day and I'm sure I will but for now, I'm going to concentrate on getting home and doing my homework.

When I arrived home, I found a note on the fridge addressed to me from my mother.

_Dear Angel,_

_I've gone out with Miguel again. Sorry Honey. I will be back later. I cooked you up some delicious rice and pot stickers. Just heat them up and I made the special sauce that you like to dip them in. Yum! Again, I'm sorry honey, I'll see you later okay?_

_I love you!_

_Mom_

I wasn't too surprised to see that she was out with Miguel. They both were just so excited about the babies that they spend so much time planning the shower and guessing what the genders will be. I just rolled my eyes and pulled out my dinner. I heated them up in the microwave and took out the special soy sauce and started stirring it. The secret is a lot of worsteshire sauce, and other ingredients but I love worsteshire sauce. It was the best known ingredient to everything. My phone started ringing to I answered.

"Hello?" I answered while placing the phone between my shoulder and ear.

"Hey there." I heard a symphony on the other end.

"Hey Josh!" I said excitedly.

"Hey Evangeline, how are you doing? I'm sorry that this time is taking so long. It'll all be over soon. I promise."

"Oh no it's no problem, Of course you are my only friend here."

"Anna hasn't been visiting you?"

I dropped the bowl and tisked him.

"Josh you can't make people visit me if they don't want to."

"It's not like she doesn't want to. She's here to visit my family but I asked if she would visit you more than once but I guess she is too busy."

"I guess so."

"So…"

" So what?"

"Have you opened your present yet?"

"No I haven't, I've been busy with other things."

"What other things are more important than gifts? When I get gifts, I'm not going to lie, I open them into infinity. I don't call it greedy-"

"I do."

"Well I call it appreciative. I like it when other people think of me enough to get me gifts."

"Well then you must have a lot of people thinking about you since you're famous and all." There was a silence.

"Evangeline." Josh asked in a serious tone.

"Yeah?" I asked pulling my dinner out of the microwave and mixing the rice.

"Being famous has nothing to do with me. I just like to act. I don't choose to be famous, it just comes with the job."

"Josh, I didn't mean to say anything to upset you."

"You didn't. Please stop what you're doing and go open the present while I have you on the other line." I sighed and went upstairs to my room. I opened the closet door and pulled out the large rectangular box. I opened it up and I moved all the tissue paper away and saw a gorgeous strapless deep purple dress. It was so beautiful that I almost cried.

"Josh what is this for?" I asked holding it up.

"I want you to wear it to the premiere of the movie with me. You know, as a, date?" He asked a little nervous. I felt a prick of pain in my stomach and suddenly did want to cry.

"Oh Josh, I-I don't know what to say. The dress is so beautiful, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't want to sound shallow but I can't date you. I don't want the life of a Celebrities girlfriend."  
"Evangeline it's not like that-"

"Yes it is Josh, Once I end up on the cover of a tabloid magazine, I won't be a normal person anymore. My reputation will be over and I'll be the girl that Josh Hutcherson decided was a new love interest. And I don't think that I can take that." I said. I heard some rumbling in the back. Josh sighed.

"I got to go. Bye Angel." He said sadly and hung up.

"Bye." I said to myself and placed my phone on the counter. I threw all my food in the garbage and went upstairs to lay in my bed. Josh was a wonderful person and a great friend but I have seen what gossip can do. It can ruin peoples lives and I don't want to have a bad reputation in this small town that I just moved into. It wouldn't be good for my mother or for me. I still have some getting used to with Miguel. I didn't exactly know how Josh was with girls anyway. I can see that he can recognize them and make friends with them but I don't see how he is with girls that he likes and I want to know that if I was with him, that he would take care of me and not leave me alone to deal with the public's ugly heads. Eventually I fell asleep. I had no dreams, but I'm sure I didn't look too good while I slept.

The next day was Saturday and I felt as if I was drinking the night before. Everything was fuzzy and I couldn't hear too well. I walked downstairs in a slow manner and grabbing the rail to be sure that I wouldn't fall down. I walked into the kitchen and found my mom at the table reading the newspaper. She looked worried when she saw me walk in and my expression looked lowly and upset.

"Oh honey, what's wrong? I knew something was wrong when I found your dinner in the garbage last night."

I sat down and placed my head on the table.

"Josh asked me out."

"Oh that's great. What is so wrong about that sweetheart?"

"I don't date famous people."

"Oh honey, that's ridiculous. He really likes you. You should give him a chance."

"That's easy for you to say mom. You're not thinking about the stress and consequences of me dating someone famous." I said throwing my hands up in the air and going for a cup of coffee.

"Well Angel I think that you should really think about it. You shouldn't care about what other people think. What is it that you want?" She asked. A question that I hadn't even bothered asking myself.

"I want- I would like to- I-I don't know mom. It's all so confusing. I'm brand new to this town, I've only known Josh for so long. I want to think about it first."

"Okay Honey." My mom said standing up from the table. My mom was already looking really pregnant. I guess having twins had to make a lot of room for them two. She walked out of the room. Probably to go back to sleep. My mom has been tired lately. I didn't blame her. Being pregnant was exhausting.

I looked out the window and saw that it had rained last night. The cloudy skies cast off a dim light to the water covered blades of grass and the wind took hold of the water and carried it away, only to leave the grass dry. Only to leave it without something to hold it down, Something to keep it from being alone.


	9. Chapter 9

The rest of the day seemed like a parade of depression had been arranged just for me. I found out later that my grade in English had dropped because the teacher lost my five page paper on Obesity in America. Then later, somehow Heather had successfully spread rumors that I believed in rituals of protecting myself from the dead and sacrificed stray cats to the god of death. But that wasn't all that had happened, no. I wasn't quite finished with the bad of all bad days.

When I got home, I found my mother toppled over the arm of the couch practically leaning into the phone on the side table, crying. Her face was sullen red and her nose was buried within the tissue that she was holding.

"Okay, by Dad. I love you too." She said hanging up and blowing her nose. When she looked at me, she quickly wiped her eyes and patted the seat next to her. "Oh honey please come sit down, something has happened."

I reluctantly walked over and sat next to my crying mother who was quick to putting her arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to her. Something she only did when she knew that I would get upset over some news that she had.

"What is it mom?" I asked curiously. She sniffled into her tissue for a minute.

"Oh sweetheart," She let out a quick sob "Your Grandmother had a heart attack this morning and is in intensive Care. They don't think that she's going to make it." She started sobbing again. I could feel the tears building on the rim of my eyes and my heart was making a thousand leaps and it felt like I had been stabbed in the gut again and again.

"What?" was all I could say. And I kept saying it. "What?" Then I felt a tear fall, then another, and then they just flowed. My mother pulled me into a hug and held me tight as we both shared our anger and sadness.

The next day, nothing else happened that had made me upset. I was still worried sick about my grandmother but I wished for her to pull through. My grandmother was a fighter. She always told me to never lose myself. When I would stay at my grandmothers beach house with her as a young child, she would take me clamming and find the most perfect clams known to man and would make the best clam chowder mine taste buds have ever tasted. I would stand at the counter with her as she mixed the soup on the stove.

"The best trick to clam chowder is… wait for it," She spoke as she sprinkled something into the palm of her hand getting ready to enter it into the pot "Dried basil!" she poured all the chopped dry leaves into the pan and mix them thoroughly. I hadn't known what basil was at the time but now I know that my grandma had put it into everything that we ate at her house. But I never forgot that time she shared her secret ingredient with me. I was so thankful.

Winter break started tomorrow and I was excited for it. It helped get my mind off grandma and Josh. I cleaned up my room and helped my mom and Miguel decorate for Christmas. The inside was wonderful as the tree hung high, only giving us enough room to fit the angel on top and the bright silver garland strung around every branch working it's way down and all the lovingly bright ornaments of different shapes and sizes glistened as the lights gave them their shine. Christmas was a bright and exuberant time to celebrate with the family. And I never let anything else get in the way letting me celebrate that. My mom was letting up on the news about my grandma. She wasn't in ICU anymore. She had her own room and was slowly recovering. She had been sleeping for two days and hadn't opened her eyes once. That was all that worried her. But as long as she had a chance of living, my mom's worry level was much calmer.

Josh had tried to call me several times, I always skipped his calls. Of course he left me messages and I was so weak that I let myself hear them, to hear his voice. They were mostly apologetic but he stuck to the date. He said he didn't want to let me go that easily and that paparazzi was hard but we could get through it. He said he would never do anything to let others think that I was just a fling but I couldn't bring myself to let him bring to that. I did like Josh, more than I wanted. I just couldn't handle the pressure. I was also worried I wouldn't be everything that he wanted but I didn't want to tell him that in case he told me that I was everything he wanted.

Of course that sounded as if he loved me but I knew that that wasn't the case. I just didn't want to worry him in thinking that I blew him off or wasn't interested. If I had lead him to believe such a thought, I had to fix it, and quick. I had looked at the dress several times and hadn't thought once that I should give it back. It was the most beautiful dress that I'd ever kept in my closet and I wanted to wear it, to feel beautiful and keep trying hairstyles to see which one would look best with the dress. I didn't know how Josh knew that purple looked good on me but somehow he did.

On the first day of my break, I sat on the couch all day till my shift at work started. Nick needed me today and I was willing to work for a little extra money. My room had depressed me because it reminded me so much of Josh. He had helped me build the wonderful getaway, now it just felt like jail.

I took a shower and threw on a white long sleeved shirt and black distressed jeans. I put on my winter coat and drove down to the pawn shop. I found Nick at the counter filling out some papers and looking busy. When he heard the bell ding, he looked over and saw me and a smile stretched wide across his face.

"There you are!" He said enthusiastically. "Go ahead and sign in." He said pointing to a clipboard holding multiple pieces of paper. I found one with my name written sloppily across the top. I put the date and what time it was and stood next to Nick. He told me that he had to be somewhere so he left me some instructions on what my duties were. He also explained that there weren't many customers until about two days before Christmas but I always had my instructions to refer to.

When Nick left, I'd discovered that the place was in fact, deserted. I read over my instructions a few times. I had seen the trophies, mirrors and picture frames, toys, jewelry, and my personal favorite, glass figurines. Nick had set up a place of figurines just for me and I loved to look at them. They were so beautiful. One figurine was of an angel, one wing was broken, I think on purpose, and her halo hung above her head as her hands rested at her sides and her mouth open in the shape of an "o" letting me know that she was singing. Her dress flowed to her feet and she was resting on a cloud made of a smoky white glass. She was so beautiful. I heard a ding and ran to the counter right quick. Connor had walked in. I swallowed hard thinking that his brother told him everything.

"Hey there, I remember you." He said gesturing to me.

"Yeah, I remember you too." I said nervously

"Yeah you're the girl that my brother hangs out with, well when he's here anyway."

"Yeah, that's me. Say, why aren't you and your parents with him anyway?" I asked

"Oh he wanted to go alone. So we arranged for his agent to bunk with him and watch over him like a hawk." He said making gestures from his eyes as if he were watching Josh right this minute. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here."

"Oh that's interesting. Josh applied here a while ago, about a year ago. He loved it here. He cherished everything in here. He was practically heart broken when one of the figurines over there broke." He said

"Which one?"

"Oh this one at the house, he keeps it under his bed because he's afraid it'll break more. I've never seen anything so sad before."

"What? The figurine breaking?"

"No, My brother flipping out over a broken figurine." He said. That story rang in my head all day. I'd never known Josh to be so passionate about a glass figurine before. I'd wished that I could see it.

When I got home later, I found my mother sitting on the couch watching TV as a pair of headphones rested on her stomach. I didn't think she was pregnant enough for that but I ignored it. I walked into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich and ate it quickly. I hadn't eaten much today and felt famished. I watched TV with my mom for a while and then I went upstairs to bed. I couldn't sleep for a while. I just lay there. The past three days were the hardest days that I've been through since we moved to Kentucky. I hadn't faced problems this effective before and realized that I couldn't handle them.

I was weak.

I couldn't take that realization and thought to myself that I would stay strong and push through all these things that life is trying to throw at me, no matter how hard. I didn't know how my mom could do it. She was so suddenly okay. That's how she's always been though. My mother was strong and could handle everything. I hadn't known if this was true but everything that I've seen go wrong for her, were no problem. At the end of the day all it was to my mom was a hot shower and hot cup of coffee. I envied her for that. But then again, I was her daughter, I could be just as strong as she was, right?


	10. Chapter 10

It's been a week and I was still feeling overly stressed. The bags under my eyes were growing large and were darkened. My meals suddenly became one snack a day and I confined myself to my room everyday. My grandmother still hasn't woken up and has worried my grandpa sick, she's worried us all. My mom has been keeping calm because she's pregnant and believes that the babies will come out messed up if she doesn't try to make herself seem calm and collected. But underneath that tough exterior, we all knew she was scared.

And I really missed Josh. I missed him more than I had wanted to. He had a huge effect on me and I missed him more than anything. He always left me messages saying that he was sorry for upsetting me and sometimes he would call completely upset with me and leave me mean messages but would immediately call back and apologize and say that he needed to get angry for a scene he was doing and couldn't shake off the emotion. But I knew that he was upset with me. He was upset with the way that I was behaving. But he had to understand, my life was a mess then and I couldn't mix his life with mine. It would just be impossible. I still listened to every message. I missed talking to him. I missed responding to him. He was my lifeline in this town and I cut him off.

My mom was at an appointment one Saturday afternoon and it was just three days away from Christmas. I was lying on my bed and staring up at the ceiling. It was nothing of personal interest; I just needed to keep my eyes busy while I thought. I thought about Josh and whether or not I should call him and let him know how I feel. But If I did that, it would give him the idea that I'm soft on his offer and will go to the premiere with him. He did go through an awful lot to get me that dress though, and it is beautiful. But I can't wear it to another event when he specifically bought it for this one.

I was completely lost. I just wish he hadn't asked me to go. I wish that he just wanted to remain friends and wouldn't leave me nasty messages and make me feel bad.

I heard a knock on the door and slumped downstairs to open it. When I opened I was quite surprised to see a very unhappy girl standing there.

"Why haven't you been talking to him?" Anna spoke loudly and sharply.

"What? How did you- why are you-" I was interrupted

"Josh has called me and told me that you aren't speaking to him and it's making him really upset. I don't like it when my friends are upset." She said walking inside the house and bringing the cold with her. She stood behind me as I closed the door and I faced her as she crossed her arms and stood like my mother did when I would stay out too late.

"Josh is worried about you. He heard about your grandma and what happened at school."

"How did he hear about that?" I asked shocked

"You told your mom, your mom tells his parents, and his parents tell him. It's the circle of life." She said

"Okay look, I do like Josh, A lot more than I wanted to, but he needs to understand that with everything that's going on in my life right now, intertwining his life with mine is going to be hectic, and I am just not strong enough to handle that." I said sitting on the couch, depressed. Anna walked over and sat next to me and shifted slightly.

"But you're putting Josh through something too. You make Josh feel good about himself, and make him feel like he can be himself around you and doesn't have to worry about crazy fans going after him. He thinks that it's a good thing that you're not familiar with his work because you don't act like some crazed fan. He thinks you're special and grind-" She paused for a second and stared into space.

"I'm special and what?" I asked

"Well why don't you talk to her?" She whispered. "I can't do this, the reception is crap." She said

"Excuse me?" I asked. Anna looked at me and ripped a phone piece out of her ear.

"I'm tired of this thing between you two. Josh told me to come here and act all angry and tell you everything that he wants to say since you're not answering his calls but I've had enough. You two are making up and you're making up now." She stuck the piece in my ear and cupped her hands over my ear so I couldn't rip it off. Now my hair was ruffed all over my face and I was too nervous to talk.

"Evangeline?" I heard Josh's sweet voice say to me. I hadn't heard my name come fresh from his lips in so long.

I just couldn't resist.

"Josh?" I replied.

"Oh it's so good to hear your voice. I miss you. I'm sorry that I just sprang that on you. I didn't mean to make you upset or anything, I was only hoping that you would want to go on a date but I understand if you don't want to." He said all too quickly. I didn't speak for a while. I just thought about what to say next. Every solution that I had in my head or every way I thought this would turn out just wouldn't process straight.

"You miss me?" I asked. It wasn't what I wanted to say but I liked hearing that he missed me and I wanted to hear his voice. I missed everything that he would say to me, no matter how silly or insane it sounded.

"Well of course I do. I think about you a lot. You're on my mind so much that we actually had to redo some scenes. I feel bad for all those messages and bothering you so much. I am sorry for everything that is going on in your family and life right now. I just wish I could be there to make it better." He said. I felt a pang in my chest and the tears were stinging the rims of my eyes. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was and that I would go to premiere with him but my pride just wouldn't let me do that.

"Josh, I-" I started but stopped myself. I couldn't think of anything to say. I just sat there. Keeping him and Anna wondering what I was going to say. It was then that I realized it's now my turn to make things right, and I just didn't know how.

"I don't know what to say." I finished. I heard Anna sigh as if she was disappointed, and I couldn't agree with her more.

"Well, then I guess I don't either." Josh said back after a moment. Anna eventually took her hands off my head and let me talk to Josh on my own. "You know Evangeline; I've tried my best to keep my opinion to myself because I knew you would come through somehow. I thought you were the type of person who didn't care what others think. I know you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for. The Evangeline that I met was strong and creative. She was mad about moving to Kentucky but she was coping and starting to love it. What you did with your room was something I was lucky to be a part of because I got to see a side of you that made you feel strong and independent. That Evangeline was the one who I fell for. She knew how to laugh and didn't care what others thought or said. She loved who she was and expressed it, strongly. But now, your pride is just too strong that it's turned you into something that you feared. I can tell that this isn't going to work unless you stop caring about what others think. Why can't you think about what you want for once? Tell me what you want!"

I couldn't think of anything to say. Josh had me stumped. What I wanted was a life with him and to be care free and be creative, but I had to think of all the things that came with the life I wanted. It wasn't always care free and fun. Aside from being a teenager, you need to keep your name clean which is impossible with the way gossip travels across the world

I sat there for a while. I knew he was expecting an answer. I knew I had to give one but I just couldn't think of it. I heard him sigh and I said, "I can't."

"Exactly. I guess this is goodbye for now isn't it?" he asked, His voice breaking from sadness.

"I guess it is, for now." I answered. I heard him hang up and I dropped the ear piece in Anna's hand. She picked it up and said goodbye. She had hoped that everything between Josh and I would work out but we could only find out in the end.


	11. Chapter 11

It's late January and I was shopping with mom for baby clothes. She likes to drag me along to ask my opinion even though I only responded with few "hums" and "haws." She was set on having a girl within the twins and kept setting girl clothing into the cart. I had to replace them with the same style but with a different color when my mom wasn't looking. She's going to be surprised when she finds a bag full of yellow when we get home.

"Oh Angel look!" My mom pointed to a monitor that hung above the clothing advertising some of the stuff around Wal-Mart and after playing nonsense about what fresh food in the grocery section and how Wal-Mart's prices are unbeatable, a trailer about a new movie coming out started playing. The announcer was speaking fluently of magical tales and unbelievable creatures. The main character, Chris Massoglia, appeared his hair combed up neat and his dark eyes shining in the light and the look of curiosity shining on his face. He was suddenly with a monkey girl, asking him politely not to stare at her tail. Then, I saw him. I saw his gorgeous eyes and sunken face.

The most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen.

The most gorgeous lips.

Oh god I missed Josh so much. I missed him with the intensity of a thousand suns. I messed up I knew I did but I wish that his beautiful face wasn't frozen on a screen in front of me, mocking me. Tears started streaming down my cheeks and my mother wrapped her arms around me, a large belly of my own siblings blocking the warmth. I cried into my mother's tee shirt and left a large water stain that I knew she wouldn't mind.

When I pulled away from her, she was smiling and she wiped my tears away and kissed my forehead. She made me feel much better. A new commercial was playing and I soon forgot about how I missed Josh. I replaced him with happy thoughts; thoughts that wouldn't disturb me and make me miss him that much more.

Later at home, I was watching TV because I just didn't want to be in my room. I know I worked hard on all of what is in it but it reminds me of him. Next month he will return and I will have to face him. It will be hard but I think I can handle it. At least I'm hoping I can. Josh ran through my thoughts on a constant basis. It seemed like the universe was sending me messages with trailers about his movie. The stupid universe was breaking my heart.

Eventually I did go into my room and it wasn't so bad. My heart felt small pangs of guilt when I saw the sections that josh helped me with. I mean the spots that look like the paint is going in the wrong direction. I lay on my bed and thought about how much of a monster I was for breaking Josh's heart. He meant everything to me. He was my only friend here when no one else wanted to be. He helped around town and helped me around school. I felt like I had betrayed him. He didn't deserve everything that I had done to him. He was being a perfect friend to me and I had done some mean things to him. I guess my reasoning isn't perfect either.  
I wondered if I was just scared. May be I wasn't worried about paparazzi but in fact of the commitment but then it would ring my head how scared I was of the paparazzi ruining my life, Like they did to pretty much every celebrity ever. I just didn't feel the need to break someone's heart that really cared about me. It made me feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

My mom was feeling the usual pains and throbs of being pregnant and would tell me stories of when she was pregnant with me and it made me never want to get pregnant. She said she vomited quite a lot and had stomach pains when the babies kicked and was constantly craving different foods that would sound gross to a normal human being. She told me to stop being a baby when I would get grossed out and would tell me how much of a reward it was to hold the children in your arms after all that hard work.

"Sure they ruin your image and cause you so much physical pain but it's all worth it in the end. And you can always lose the baby fat and the pain eventually goes away but you get to keep the beautiful babies that you make. The best part of it all is that they are all yours too." She said to me. My mom was a strong woman and it made me very jealous. She could push through baby birth and have the most gruesome headaches but won't take pills to keep from drugging the babies and can't still kick ass in the end. She was the very person I wanted to be when I am older, a strong yet loving woman. Right now I was a coward and heartless monster. But I was absolutely determined to fix that.

I was at work when Nick told me that we would be getting a bunch of new glass figurines for the display and he wanted me to unpack them and put them up. I thought I could handle it so I went out and waited for the delivery truck. When it arrived we got three boxes and I brought them inside using the hand truck. When I got the display I opened all the boxes and the first thing I noticed was packing peanuts and newspaper. I pulled out the figurines one by one and set them on the table, arranging them to fit the display. I found a newspaper that had a picture of Josh on it. He looked very young. I picked it up and read:

**_Bride to Terabithia is a Hit!_**

It was an article about his old movie. The one he told me that he was in. It was with Anna and they both were so cute. I set the newspaper down and finished my task. I stuffed it back in the box and put the boxes in the back.

I was officially convinced that I had to fix things with Josh. When I went home that night I started making a list of things that I wanted to say to him but soon my notebook paper starting getting less as the pile of crumbled paper balls started climbing a mile high around my bed.

I was getting tired when it was around one in the morning and I gave up and started laying down when I my mind wandered to what it would be like when Josh and I finally see each other. I could only hope that it was go well.

I won't lie though,

I was scared.


	12. Chapter 12

It's mid may and I haven't talked to Josh in months! He was so angry with me that he hadn't called me once. He hadn't even called to leave a message. He was coming home in less than two weeks and I hadn't figured out what to say to him. It was all so confusing to me. I would think of one thing to say but would completely erase it from my mind because I thought that it would hurt his feelings.

I was completely lost.

I hadn't talked to my mom about it because she was already trying to keep herself stress free so my twin siblings will come out normal without any disabilities because my mother wasn't calm enough to keep their heads in a circle shape. Anna was kind enough to invite me out for coffee here and then and we talked about it. She would talk to me about Josh and what he would tell her. He told her not to talk to me or tell me anything and she would promise him but secretly keep her fingers crossed. I could tell that she wanted Josh and I to be together and I just didn't know whether or not I wanted to disappoint her or make her happy.

My grandma came home from the hospital last week and was at full health. Well not really, she still stumbled when she walked but my grandpa has been helping her around the house and cooking the food and cleaning and making sure that she learns how to walk without falling over. It was really a good moment to learn that she was going to be okay. It was also a huge weight of my mom's shoulders because she didn't want to lose her mom when she had two new kids on the way that just had to meet her.

My job was going fairly well. We usually never had customers and the dust was piling so high that I thought dust bunnies the sizes of a pizzeria were starting to form in the back. It seemed that Nick was busy in the back constantly. I always wondered if he was too old to run this shop anymore. Only once or twice did someone come in and buy something that they thought would be great for their nephew's birthday.

I was studying for my final exams in my room one night thinking about Josh. It was very hard to concentrate on my French homework but he just kept slipping into my mind. I felt that I had messed up something in my life that actually meant a lot to me. Josh wasn't just another jerk from my school or anything. He tried to be my friend because he didn't want me to be all alone. Even if he did know that he was going away for four months. All of a sudden my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me."

"Anna?"

"Yeah just hold on, Josh is on but he can't hear you. Keep quiet, I want you to listen in on this." She said and I heard her beep some buttons and she said "Hello?" And josh answered her. His voice rang out beautifully.

"Hey Josh. Sorry, This new phone is a little strange."

"That's okay. What were we talking about?"

"Evangeline?"

"Oh right. You see I think I may like her more than I thought and it's really hard because I've always had the problem of dealing with gossip and every time I like a girl she only says yes because she wants the attention but Angel is different. She says no because of them. I can tell she wants to be with me, trust me it's obvious,"

I frowned,

"But at the same time it's getting ridiculous because she knows that no matter what, our relationship won't be top news forever. I can't make them go away forever. But we can keep it a secret if she wants. I just wish she could think for herself and give it a chance." He said. I hung up immediately. I didn't want to hear anymore. Josh makes me upset sometimes because he thinks he understands it all but he doesn't. I've seen the papers. Our relationship may not be top news forever but if I have kids or get married it will happen all over again. I just want Josh to understand that. I do want to be with him. I will not say he's wrong about that.

I was tired of being in my room so I went downstairs to find my mom and Miguel cuddling on the couch. It made me sick. Miguel was gross sometimes. He made my mom happy so I'm more than willing to put up with him but he needs to know that I will never call him my dad. I went into the kitchen to waste time and find something to eat. I was feeling pretty hungry so I cooked up some stroganoff and ate it willingly. I let my mom and Miguel get some too. I wasn't going to cook dinner and leave them out. I know they would never to do that to me. I watched the news for a while and then watched some mindless TV. Once I got bored with that I went back to my room and lay on my bed. I stared at the sculpture. The mermaids beautiful hands holding my ruby stone were like a dream. Her hair was flowing beautifully with the water and the dolphin swimming with her seemed majestic.

Staring at the sculpture gave me some sort of serene feeling and I instantly felt lighter. Almost like I was on air. Then my eyelids felt heavier than my own body did and next thing I realized, I was asleep.

Josh was coming home today. I was nervous about what I would say to him. I hadn't even taken into consideration if he wanted to see me or not. I thought that he might since he likes me so much but I also have to consider the fact that he thinks I can't think for myself and broke his heart. I'm pretty sure he won't want to see me but I have to find him and apologize. My mom woke me up early because she got a call from Josh's parents telling her that he was coming home. It was only 8 in the morning but I was wide awake. I dressed in a yellow cotton summer dress with strapped sandals and let my hair down. I thought I might have to catch his attention somehow.

I was standing outside on my lawn and relaxed in the grass. The sun was shining bright on my eyes so I closed them and felt the warmth on my skin. It was nice to relax while I waited. I waited to hear a car arriving at his driveway. Or the sound of a plane fly overhead letting me know that he was almost here. He would be so close and I could feel him near me again. But I never heard a car or a plane. All I felt was the warmth of the sun had taken me into a trance.

"It's beautiful grass huh?"

His voice rang in my ears. I thought I was dreaming but then I felt the warmth, I felt the cool of the grass. And I felt his shadow radiate on my figure. I opened my eyes and I saw him.

"It's especially nice when the sprinklers turn on."

"Josh." I whispered. I stood up and faced him. He looked so beautiful. His eyes were sad but his figure was tense. His hands were in his pockets and his face seemed to be having troubles finding my own.

"Hi Evangeline." He spoke, "I've missed you." I felt tears building up in my eyes, but they were happy tears.

"Hey." I replied. My mind wouldn't exactly let me say anything else. At first there was awkward silence between us and both of us just looked at our feet as if they were suddenly interesting.

"Josh, I-"

"No. I came here to apologize. I understand if you don't want to be with me. I guess I got a little mad but I guess that happens when you're in love."

"Josh. You can't assume that this is your fault because it's not. You were right. I can be a little stuck up sometimes. I also have self-esteem issues-"

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. But I guess they are the reason that I told you no."

Josh walked to me with a smile across his lips, His hands behind his back.

"I don't think I heard a no. I think I heard a 'Josh I really want to but I'm being paranoid'" he claimed. I scoffed at his remark and rolled my eyes. I realized that he was starting to a get a little comfortable. I relaxed and crossed my arms.

He stopped and looked at me, His hands still behind his back.

"What?" I asked

"You look beautiful, Evangeline." He said simply. I blushed and held my hands behind my back just like he did. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my arms, holding me in my place. He stared at me as I did the same to him. His eyes were soft and lovely.

"Why don't we try again?" he asked. My eyes instantly brightened. A million thoughts when through my head but one rang out louder than the rest.

Why don't we try again?

"I'd love to." His smile stretched wider. He wrapped his arms fully around my waist and pulled me close.

"Hi Evangeline." He said

"Hello Josh."

"How would you like to go to the premier with me?" He said, "As my girlfriend?" He finally said it and I couldn't help but blush a deep red that made him laugh. It was cute.

"Josh." I started. I felt my lips freeze, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

He picked me up and spun me around and let me down placing his hands on my hips while my hands were on his shoulders and I felt our lips closing in and the sweet delicious waves of simplicity hit me as his lips graced my own.

And I truly wouldn't have this any other way.


	13. Chapter 13

"Holy mother of god this is painful!" My mother yelled from her room. I struggled out of my blankets and fell on the floor. Josh leaned over, not fully awake and asked if I was okay. Josh decided to spend the night with me more often since we decided to date a couple months back. It's been very nice having someone there next to me at night. I stood and stumbled my way out of my room and ran to my mom's room as fast as I could. Miguel was there holding her hand asking her to breathe. "Mom are you okay?" I asked over her loud panting and uncomfortable grunts.

"I'm having the baby." She yelled. I had a swift moment of panic but pulled myself together.

"Miguel, get my mom to my car, I'm taking her to the hospital." I said and ran back to my room and told Josh my mom was in labor. He followed me downstairs and we grabbed our coats and my keys and headed outside. Miguel was helping my mom down the steps and into the car and sat in the back seat with her. I drove as fast as the law allowed to get my mom to the hospital. Josh called the hospital from the car and has someone come outside and meet us. We put my mom in a wheelchair and took her inside. All the time she was howling in pain, I was panicking. A male nurse came out and took my mom inside one of the rooms and got her on a bed while another nurse gave Miguel some paperwork too fill out.

"Evangeline, what do we do?" Josh asked. We sat on a window bench beside my mom's bed the nurse was hooking up my mom's IV. I just took Josh's hand and held it tight as the nurse and doctor were calming my mom and telling her exactly what she needed to do.

Miguel came into the room holding a clipboard and walked to my mom holding her hand. Josh and I just sat there watching and waiting for my little siblings to arrive.

I was in the lobby with Josh getting some snacks from the vending machine while my mom was trying hard not to break Miguel's hand.

"How are you holding up Angel?" Josh asked holding a cup of coffee, barely keeping a tight grip.

"I'm worried. I don't want anything to go wrong in there. I mean, you saw my mom. She's a wreck! I don't want anything to be uncomfortable and I want the babies to be okay." I said grabbing a back of licorice from the machine and taking my seat next to Josh.

"Angel, you don't have to worry about your mom. She's strong. She was able to have you and look at you, you're healthy and beautiful and your mom turned out healthy afterwards too. I'm pretty sure your mom can handle giving birth to two more kids." He said simply.

"Yeah, you're right." I said nodding and taking a sip of his coffee. A nurse walked up to us smiling wide and said, "Your mom is ready to see you now." We followed him into the room my mom was in and there she was. She looked like a mess. He hair was all over her face and her make-up from yesterday was smeared and she looked like she was drenched in sweat but she was still beautiful. In her arms was a little child. Miguel was holding the other one. One child wrapped in pink. The other, blue.

"Evangeline, meet Persephone and Nathan." She beamed at me. Her face was so lit up, I couldn't have been happier for her. I walked over to look at the child in her arms. She was holding Persephone, who was giving little yips as she had just finished crying. I looked at her and thought she was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen.

"Come hold Nathan." Miguel said and I crossed over the room and looked at Nathan who was still crying softly. Miguel carefully handed Nathan to me and I gladly took him. It was then that I noticed I was crying too. I was so happy to see them. Josh stood next to me and looked closely at Nathan.

"Hey little buddy, welcome to the outside world. I'm Josh, I'm dating your sister." He enunciated and I gave him a little sneer. I looked at Nathan again and walked over to my mom. I handed her Nathan and she gave me Persephone. They both had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were beautiful. My mom was crying with me and josh and Miguel stood there looking like they were the proudest men in the universe.

"Mom, they're beautiful. I'm so proud of you." I said kissing her cheek. She smiled and looked at Nathan.

"I know. I've only known them for so long and I love them so much." She said.

My story is not one that is common. But it isn't impossible either. Since I've moved here, I've learned so much and made new friends and found love. How many people can say that they honestly have that experience? Josh is excellent and my new siblings are darling. My mom has her hands full handling twins but I'm sure she can pull through. I've learned to live with Miguel and have taking a new friendship with him. Josh continues to leave every so often for a shoot or movie and I've learned to live with it. He sometimes invites me along to talk shows and things because I've learned to accept that I am with a celebrity. Like I said, my story isn't common.

But that doesn't mean that it's impossible.


End file.
